Salesforce for Outlook Retires 30 January 2027: A Migration Checklist

Avinash Vatsya· Salesforce Consultant, SAASKOOL · 12+ years on the platform1 October 202610 min read

Salesforce for Outlook now retires on 30 January 2027, not 1 November 2026. On that date the desktop client stops connecting to Salesforce and stops syncing contacts, events and tasks, its side panel goes, and admins lose its Setup configurations. Data already synced stays. The replacements are the Outlook integration for the side panel and Einstein Activity Capture for sync.

The facts below come from Salesforce Help as at October 2026. Costs, editions and whether to turn on Einstein Activity Capture are in our Outlook and Gmail integration guide.

When exactly does Salesforce for Outlook retire, and why did the date move?

On 30 January 2027. Salesforce's retirement knowledge article, updated 1 October 2026, says the product "is rescheduled to retire on January 30, 2027", and the Winter '27 release note agrees, adding that it "was previously scheduled for retirement in December 2027".

The date moved twice in September 2026. The release notes' change log records a move from December 2027 to 1 November 2026 in the week of 14 September, then to 30 January 2027 in the week of 28 September. If you saw 1 November 2026 quoted, including on this blog, that was the published date for about two weeks.

Plan to the date. Salesforce says the authentication controls it enforces on connected applications "can't be waived or extended", and "Because Salesforce for Outlook relies on legacy authentication, its architecture can't support these required platform controls." Our Winter '27 integrations post covers the other OAuth changes in this release.

The release note applies the change to "Lightning Experience and Salesforce Classic in Contact Manager, Group, Essentials, Professional, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer editions".

What stops working on 30 January 2027, and what happens to synced data?

The client stops working entirely; the data it already synced stays where it is. The retirement article lists four impacts:

Connection and sync. "Desktop client authentication will stop functioning", so users cannot connect or sync contacts, events and tasks.
Side panel and desktop features. Users lose the side panel, "Windows system tray controls, and email logging tools such as the Add Emails button."
Setup and personal settings. Admins "can no longer access or edit Outlook configurations from Salesforce Setup", and users can no longer download the client.
Unresolved Items. The list stops showing unmatched Salesforce for Outlook items; it stays for Einstein Activity Capture and Email to Salesforce.

On data, Salesforce is direct: "All other previously synced Salesforce and Microsoft Outlook data remains unaffected." What you lose is the configuration, so record it first.

How do you find out who still uses Salesforce for Outlook?

Compare two Setup pages. Salesforce's retirement preparation guide suggests comparing them, because some users "downloaded Salesforce for Outlook on their own and have used the default Outlook configuration" and appear on no list you made.

Login History. From Setup, enter Login History in the Quick Find box, then select Login History. Each user's Salesforce for Outlook version shows "in the Application and Client Version columns" (help). The page shows "up to 20,000 records of user logins for the past 6 months" (as at October 2026), and you can download a CSV or GZIP file for more (help). You need Monitor Login History or Manage Users.
Outlook Configurations. From Setup, enter Outlook Configurations in the Quick Find box, then select Outlook Configurations (help). Note each configuration's assigned users and profiles.

Anyone in Login History but in no configuration installed the client themselves; anyone in a configuration but absent from Login History may still expect it to work. Our security settings checklist covers Login History more generally.

Then record everything, because admins lose access to the configurations on 30 January. Salesforce suggests its migration worksheets or screenshots, and reminds you to expand sections "such as Assigned Members or Edit Field Mappings" and to "record your sync filters". Its knowledge article warns that "custom field mappings and sync filters, don't transfer automatically and must be recreated in the new setup."

What replaces each Salesforce for Outlook feature?

The Outlook integration "Replaces the Salesforce side panel experience" and Einstein Activity Capture "Replaces automated contact and event sync" (knowledge article). Some features have no replacement. From Salesforce's feature comparison, as at October 2026:

What reps do in Salesforce for Outlook	Replacement	What changes, per Salesforce
See related records in a side panel	Outlook integration	The old side panel disconnects automatically when a user connects the new one (help)
Add emails to records, saved as tasks	Outlook integration logging, or Einstein Activity Capture	With Enhanced Email, emails log "as Salesforce emails and as tasks"; captured email creates no new records
Create records from the side panel (action menu unavailable since Summer '21)	Outlook integration	Existing email application publisher layouts and assignments "work for the Outlook Integration" (help)
Sync contacts	Einstein Activity Capture	Reps file contacts in a Salesforce_Sync folder; fewer sync filters; deleted contacts are not removed from the other side
Sync events	Einstein Activity Capture	Default Outlook calendar only; event series rather than Classic recurring events; event attachments do not sync
Sync tasks	None	"task sync isn't available"; the side panel shows the Salesforce task list
Sync custom fields	None	Listed as "Not available"
Not in Salesforce for Outlook: email engagement feedback and meeting scheduling	Inbox	"Available for an extra cost"

When is Einstein Activity Capture the wrong replacement?

When your users depend on something it does not support. Salesforce's support comparison (as at October 2026) is the page to check:

Edition. Both replacements are supported in Essentials, Professional, Enterprise, Performance and Unlimited, and the Outlook integration also in Group and Developer. Salesforce for Outlook is also listed for Personal and Contact Manager, where neither replacement is.
Old Microsoft versions. "Our next-generation products aren't compatible with Microsoft Outlook 2010 or Microsoft Exchange 2010." The Outlook integration needs "Exchange Online with Office 365" or "Exchange 2019, 2016, or 2013 on-premises" (requirements).
Hybrid Exchange. With users split between Exchange Online and on-premises servers, Einstein Activity Capture capture works but sync is "Not available".
Salesforce Classic. "Einstein Activity Capture requires Lightning Experience" (help), but do not remove Classic access yet: that "also cuts off their access to Salesforce for Outlook".
Data location. With Einstein Activity Capture, "some data is stored using a public cloud provider", which regulated organisations may want to review.
Task or custom-field sync. Neither exists in the replacements.
More than 100 users. The support page says Einstein Activity Capture supports "up to 100 users" on the standard Salesforce licence, with a paid upgrade beyond that. The editions page it links to states no cap, so confirm with Salesforce before a large rollout.

If you cannot buy the upgrade beyond 100 users, Salesforce's own fallback is: "you can move to Outlook integration only or to a third-party app on AppExchange for now."

What is the cutover checklist?

Salesforce sets only the end date; the timing below is our recommendation for the roughly 17 weeks between 1 October 2026 and 30 January 2027. Each step is based on Salesforce Help.

October: inventory and decide

Run the Login History and Outlook Configurations comparison above.
Record every configuration, with screenshots or Salesforce's worksheets.
Check Exchange and Outlook versions with IT, and confirm users work in Lightning Experience.
Choose: Outlook integration only, Outlook integration plus Einstein Activity Capture, or an AppExchange product.

November: test

Test "in sandbox, or with a small group of test users" (help).
For testers, deactivate Salesforce for Outlook first: in Outlook Configurations, click Edit, "deselect Side Panel and Add Email", and set contacts, events and tasks to "Don't sync" (help). Salesforce recommends this before activating Einstein Activity Capture for the same users (help).
Turn on the Outlook integration, which needs Customize Application: "From Setup, in the Quick Find box, enter Outlook, and then select Outlook Integration and Sync", then enable "Let users access Salesforce records from Outlook" (help).
Set up Einstein Activity Capture, completing its setup steps "in order" (help). Keep the same contact and event sync directions as before; for contacts, Salesforce recommends "initially selecting the Exchange to Salesforce sync direction".

December: roll out by group

Have reps prepare. Each creates a Salesforce_Sync contacts folder before activation; otherwise Einstein Activity Capture creates it and starts syncing, "introducing duplicates" (help). Events to sync go on the default calendar, and repeating events need Salesforce's separate guidance.
Deactivate each group's Salesforce for Outlook configuration, then activate Einstein Activity Capture "shortly after reps finish preparing their events" (help). If your team takes leave over the end-of-year holidays, finish this before then.

January: clean up

Uninstall the client: "Coordinate with your IT pro to uninstall Salesforce for Outlook from your reps' computers" (help).
Check Login History again for anyone still connecting through the old client.

What should you tell users?

Before you switch them over, per Salesforce's guides:

During the move, "their items don't sync, and that the Side Panel in Outlook isn't accessible."
Tasks stop syncing; the side panel shows their Salesforce task list instead.
With Enhanced Email on, logged emails are saved "as Salesforce emails and as tasks" rather than as tasks only; with an Einstein Activity Capture sync direction of Exchange to Salesforce or both directions, manual logging "is disabled".
Keep personal events on a separate calendar: Einstein Activity Capture "syncs only your default Outlook calendar" (help).
Do not delete the old Sync with Salesforce categories on contacts and events, "even after Salesforce for Outlook stops working."

Do Lightning Sync and the Microsoft Graph deadline affect this?

Only if you run them too. Lightning Sync is a separate product, "scheduled to retire in 2027" (release note), and a Lightning Sync connection on Exchange Web Services must move to Microsoft Graph before it can migrate. Einstein Activity Capture set up on Microsoft 365 from Spring '26 "is automatically authenticated by using Microsoft Graph" (help); for older connections, Salesforce set 1 October 2026 as the upgrade deadline. Our Outlook and Gmail guide covers the Graph upgrade.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When does Salesforce for Outlook retire? On 30 January 2027. Salesforce moved the date twice in September 2026: from December 2027 to 1 November 2026, then to 30 January 2027. Its retirement knowledge article, updated 1 October 2026, and the Winter '27 release note both give 30 January 2027.

What happens to data Salesforce for Outlook already synced? It stays. Salesforce says admins and users lose access only to Outlook configurations and that all other previously synced Salesforce and Microsoft Outlook data remains unaffected. Record your configurations, field mappings and sync filters before the date, because they do not transfer automatically.

How do I see who is still using Salesforce for Outlook? In Setup, open Login History and check the Application and Client Version columns, downloading the file for six months of logins. Compare it with the users and profiles assigned under Outlook Configurations in Setup to catch people who installed the client themselves.

Does Einstein Activity Capture sync tasks? No. Salesforce's feature comparison says task sync is not available in the next-generation products. The Outlook integration side panel shows reps their Salesforce task list, where they can create, edit and complete tasks, but Outlook tasks no longer sync.

Can users run Salesforce for Outlook and the Outlook integration at the same time? Not the side panels. Salesforce automatically disconnects the old side panel when a user connects the Outlook integration, although the old sync can keep running. Deactivate Salesforce for Outlook configurations before activating Einstein Activity Capture sync for the same users.

Still have users on the old client? Our Salesforce integration service can plan and run the move to the Outlook integration and Einstein Activity Capture before 30 January.